Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 10231 - 10260 of 15020

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Membrane-Bound Matrix Metalloproteinases Influence Reactive Synaptogenesis Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Kelly Warren Jul 2010

Membrane-Bound Matrix Metalloproteinases Influence Reactive Synaptogenesis Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Kelly Warren

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) produces axonal damage and deafferentation, triggering injury-induced synaptogenesis, a process influenced by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and their substrates. Here we report results of studies examining the expression and potential role of two membrane-bound MMPs, membrane-type 5-MMP (MT5-MMP) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase-10 (ADAM-10), along with their common synaptic substrate N-cadherin, during the period of reactive synaptogenesis. Protein and mRNA expression of MT5-MMP, ADAM-10 and N-cadherin were compared in two TBI models, one exhibiting adaptive plasticity (unilateral entorhinal cortex lesion; UEC) and the other maladaptive plasticity (fluid percussion injury + bilateral EC lesions; TBI+BEC), targeting 2, 7, …

Go to article

The Relationship Among Maternal Infant Bonding, Spirituality, And Maternal Perception Of Childbirth Experience, Linda Bennington Jul 2010

The Relationship Among Maternal Infant Bonding, Spirituality, And Maternal Perception Of Childbirth Experience, Linda Bennington

Theses and Dissertations

The beginning of life is an intense experience for both mother and baby and sets the foundation for future interactions. Researchers have theorized that maternal infant bonding begins prenatally and continues on through the postnatal period. Mṻller (1996) examined that process to determine if prenatal bonding was related to postnatal bonding and discovered that there was only a modest correlation between the two. This led to speculation as to what variables, besides prenatal bonding, could influence postnatal bonding. Klaus & Kennell (1976) noted the detrimental effects of a lack of bonding in terms of abuse and attachment disorders and emphasized …

Go to article

Effects Of Alternative Prey As A Buffer To Predation Of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) By Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides), Shelley Nellis Jul 2010

Effects Of Alternative Prey As A Buffer To Predation Of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) By Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides), Shelley Nellis

Theses and Dissertations

Channel catfish have pectoral spines that lock to defend against gape-limited predators such as largemouth bass. Previous work indicated that spines increase survival of channel catfish exposed to bass but did not determine whether bass avoid catfish if less dangerous species are available. We presented bass with channel catfish and two alternatives, bluegill and goldfish, and compared order of ingestion, ingestion time, percent of successful strikes, and time spent chasing each prey species. We also presented the three species in a jar study that standardized position in the water column as well as in a net-pen study. The order of …

Go to article

The Effect Of Cobalt Protoporphyrin And Cobalt Chloride On Heme Oxygenase Expression And Protection From Deoxycholate-Induced Apoptosis, Tina Lawson Jul 2010

The Effect Of Cobalt Protoporphyrin And Cobalt Chloride On Heme Oxygenase Expression And Protection From Deoxycholate-Induced Apoptosis, Tina Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

The inner surface of the stomach is lined by a mucous membrane known as the gastric mucosa. The integrity of the gastric mucosa is critical for protecting the stomach from the low pH and proteolytic environment within the lumen. Both clinically and experimentally, exposure of gastric mucosal cells to bile salts is known to cause injury. Bile salts present in duodenogastric reflux are thought to play a significant role in gastric ulcer formation and alkaline gastritis. In vitro, studies using physiologic concentrations of the secondary bile salt, deoxycholic acid, indicate that bile salts can induce apoptosis in cultured human gastric …

Go to article

Representations Of Remembrance: Literature And Memory In Borges, Pigila, And Fresán, Paul Michael Mcneil Jul 2010

Representations Of Remembrance: Literature And Memory In Borges, Pigila, And Fresán, Paul Michael Mcneil

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines three works by Argentine authors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries: Jorge Luis Borges's "La memoria de Shakespeare," Ricardo Piglia's La ciudad ausente, and Rodrigo Fresán's Mantra. These works explore the theme of memory directly, and provide insight into the role of memory in relation to literature, technology, and media. To understand memory and its functions and failures, I employ concepts from recent scientific inquiry into the nature of memory, particularly neuroscience and clinical psychology. Within this framework, I show how memory and narrative fiction share a number of similarities, and explore the …

Go to article

The Development And Use Of A Geographic Information System For Evaluating The Association Between Pesticide Exposure And Prostate Cancer, Kristen Wells Jul 2010

The Development And Use Of A Geographic Information System For Evaluating The Association Between Pesticide Exposure And Prostate Cancer, Kristen Wells

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract 1 – A Geographic Information System for Evaluating Residential Pesticide Exposure and Prostate Cancer Incidence Agricultural pesticide exposure is hypothesized to be a risk factor for prostate cancer, and such exposures are of particular concern for men living in farming communities where large-scale pesticide applications occur. Prostate cancer incidence data were obtained from the State Health Registry of Iowa for the years 1996 through 2006, and county and census tract level age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated. Historical crop-specific land use records and pesticide sales data for the state of Iowa during 1990 were integrated into a geographic information system …

Go to article

Vaudeville: A How To Guide, Evan Anderson Jul 2010

Vaudeville: A How To Guide, Evan Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

At the turn of the twentieth century vaudeville was the most prevalent form of theatrical entertainment. With more than 1,500 houses across the country, vaudeville reached in excess of 30 million audience members each year. It directly led to the advent of film and radio. Yet barely one hundred years later vaudeville has been forgotten by the once loyal masses. This guide is meant to help counter vaudeville’s fall. By adding together a basic script consisting of comedy and dramatic sketches, original works and classic vaudeville acts with music and information on the how and whys of vaudeville, this guide …

Go to article

Estimating The Reliability Of Concept Map Ratings Using A Scoring Rubric Based On Three Attributes, Laura Jimenez Jul 2010

Estimating The Reliability Of Concept Map Ratings Using A Scoring Rubric Based On Three Attributes, Laura Jimenez

Theses and Dissertations

Concept maps provide a way to assess how well students have developed an organized understanding of how the concepts taught in a unit are interrelated and fit together. However, concept maps are challenging to score because of the idiosyncratic ways in which students organize their knowledge (McClure, Sonak, & Suen, 1999). The construct a map or C-mapping" task has been shown to capture students' organized understanding. This "C-mapping" task involves giving students a list of concepts and asking them to produce a map showing how these concepts are interrelated. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine to …

Go to article

The Mechanism Of Obesity In Rai1+/- Mice, Kristie Schmidt Jul 2010

The Mechanism Of Obesity In Rai1+/- Mice, Kristie Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a genetic disorder caused by a deletion or mutation of the retinoic acid induced 1 (RAI1) gene on chromosome 17p11.2 that results in haploinsufficiency. SMS patients with a deletion account for 90% of the cases, while the other 10% have a mutation in RAI1. The syndrome is characterized by cognitive impairment, craniofacial abnormalities, sleep disturbances, developmental delay, obesity, and behavioral phenotypes. SMS is thought to affect 1:25,000 live births, although due to similar infantile phenotypes with Down syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome, SMS may be mis- or under-diagnosed. In a study of 54 children, it was shown …

Go to article

Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor And Its Signal Transduction In The Rat Hypothalamo -Neurohypophysial System, David Y. Lo Jul 2010

Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor And Its Signal Transduction In The Rat Hypothalamo -Neurohypophysial System, David Y. Lo

Theses and Dissertations

Ciliary neurotrophic factor, a member of the interleukin-6 family of cytokines, promotes neuronal survival and axonal sprouting in various populations of neurons including sensory neurons, motor neurons, and magnocellular neurons (MCN's) of the supraoptic nucleus (SON). Unilateral lesion of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial tract (HNT) results in an initial period of axonal degeneration followed by a restoration of axonal density in the neurohypophysis by 30 days post-lesion. The restoration of axonal density is attributed to collateral sprouting from MCN's of the intact contralateral SON. A statistically significant increase in CNTF levels was demonstrated previously in the intact contralateral SON following unilateral lesion …

Go to article

Functional Regulation Of The Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1 By Caveolin 1 And Stromal Interaction Molecule 1, Biswaranjan Pani Jul 2010

Functional Regulation Of The Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1 By Caveolin 1 And Stromal Interaction Molecule 1, Biswaranjan Pani

Theses and Dissertations

Caveolae are cholesterol-rich plasma-membrane (PM) microdomains which foster wide-range of signal-transduction events including Ca2+-influx. Caveolae contain Caveolin1 (Cav1) as their major structural-protein. Transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) channels constitute an integral-component of store-operated Ca2+ channels (SOCC) which initiate store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE), in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+-store depletion. Recently, Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) was identified as the ER Ca2+-sensor which, following store-depletion, forms clusters and translocate to peripheral-ER at sub-plasma membrane region and communicates with PM-SOCC activating SOCE. This study identifies a significant role of Cav1 and STIM1 in regulating TRPC1 function. In salivary epithelial cells, …

Go to article

Genomic Analysis Of Nematode-Environment Interaction, Bishwo Adhikari Jul 2010

Genomic Analysis Of Nematode-Environment Interaction, Bishwo Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

The natural environments of organisms present a multitude of biotic and abiotic challenges that require both short-term ecological and long-term evolutionary responses. Though most environmental response studies have focused on effects at the ecosystem, community and organismal levels, the ultimate controls of these responses are located in the genome of the organism. Soil nematodes are highly responsive to, and display a wide variety of responses to changing environmental conditions, making them ideal models for the study of organismal interactions with their environment. In an attempt to examine responses to environmental stress (desiccation and freezing), genomic level analyses of gene expression …

Go to article

The Impact Of Social Support On The Neuropsychological Functioning Of Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Caitlin G. Schultz Jul 2010

The Impact Of Social Support On The Neuropsychological Functioning Of Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Caitlin G. Schultz

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease which can affect several areas of functioning including physical and psychological functioning. Many individuals experience difficulties with depression and neuropsychological capabilities. Additionally, social networks often appear to be impacted by the disease. Previous research has shown that some of the physical functioning as well as the depressive symptomatology in multiple sclerosis can be ameliorated by improvements in social support. The present study used archival data to explore the impact of social support on neuropsychological function in 112 adults with multiple sclerosis. It was found that higher levels of perceived social support correlated with improved …

Go to article

Hippocampal Based Spatial Memory, Antioxidant Defense And Neurogenesis In Long-Living Ames Dwarf Mice, Sunita Sharma Jul 2010

Hippocampal Based Spatial Memory, Antioxidant Defense And Neurogenesis In Long-Living Ames Dwarf Mice, Sunita Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

The US Census Bureau projects that there Will be 71.5 million people over the age of 65 by 2030. One of the most significant problems is that the elderly population suffers from age-associated cognitive impairment. The hippocampus is one identified brain region known to be vulnerable to aging and is associated with a decline in growth hormone/insulin like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1), and an increase in oxidative stress and neuronal loss. The Ames dwarf mouse is a long-living animal that is growth hormone deficient and thus, lacks peripheral IGF-1. Ames mice have enhanced antioxidant protection in the peripheral system but the …

Go to article

Identifying Social Studies Content Embedded Inelementary Basal Readers, Wendy Taylor Workman Jul 2010

Identifying Social Studies Content Embedded Inelementary Basal Readers, Wendy Taylor Workman

Theses and Dissertations

In the current educational climate of federally mandated assessments of student learning, the survival of the elementary social studies curriculum may depend on interdisciplinary instructional methods to link social studies to the accountability-favored discipline of literacy. The purpose of this content analysis study was to examine and identify social studies content embedded within a second grade and a fifth grade basal reader from the 2008 Houghton Mifflin Reading Series. Each of the basals were read and coded using the Utah State Office of Education Social Studies Standards indicators and the National Council for the Social Studies Standards as a priori …

Go to article

Earth Forms, Janelle Marie Tullis Mock Jul 2010

Earth Forms, Janelle Marie Tullis Mock

Theses and Dissertations

Earth Forms narrates and explains the Masters Project Exhibition by the same name. The sculptures included in the exhibition, Earth Forms, use a variety of personal symbols centered on one stylized human head. Some of the symbols included are antlers, branches, coral, leaves, plants and stones. Each of these symbols represents personal ideas of balance, growth and decay. They also represent the earth from which we are formed and the earth to which our bodies will return at the end of life.

Go to article

Strategies To Employ Androstenediol To Reverse Steroid Inhibited Healing In A Rat Model Of Trauma, Francis Diskin Jul 2010

Strategies To Employ Androstenediol To Reverse Steroid Inhibited Healing In A Rat Model Of Trauma, Francis Diskin

Theses and Dissertations

Much of our current understanding regarding trauma, mechanisms of healing, and treatment strategies have evolved as a result of injuries suffered during armed conflict. While our understanding of these processes has advanced during and since these conflicts, treatment methods of traumatic wound healing have failed to progress significantly in the last forty years. The overall objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the immune regulating hormone Androstenediol (AED) modulates the host’s immune system to promote wound healing under conditions where it has been inhibited by stress and infection. In an effort to characterize the effects of Androstenediol …

Go to article

Tensions Between Word And Image In Amalie Skram's Professor Hieronimus, Benjamin A. Bigelow Jul 2010

Tensions Between Word And Image In Amalie Skram's Professor Hieronimus, Benjamin A. Bigelow

Theses and Dissertations

In her 1895 novel, Professor Hieronimus, Amalie Skram describes the struggle of Else Kant, a young mother and artist, against a tyrannical and apparently unfeeling doctor who keeps her at a Copenhagen asylum for more than a month against her will. Else feels terrorized by the constant surveillance to which she is subjected. This voyeuristic tendency in psychiatry is not only a reflection of Amalie Skram's own experience at a Copenhagen asylum, but is also indicative of a new psychiatric epistemology that understood visual observation as the key to ascertaining objective truth. Skram's novel is thus read against the …

Go to article

Activation Dependent Function Of Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 3 In Neurosecretion, Sunitha Bollimuntha Jul 2010

Activation Dependent Function Of Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 3 In Neurosecretion, Sunitha Bollimuntha

Theses and Dissertations

Transient receptor potential canonical 3 (TRPC3), a non-selective Ca 2+-permeable cation channel, is a member of the TRP superfamily of ion channels. The mode of activation of TRPC3 is governed by a cascade of Phospholipase C (PLC) mediated signaling events, following G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) or tyrosine kinase receptor activation, resulting in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ store depletion. This very store depletion triggers the activation of plasma membrane TRPC3 and hence they are termed as receptor operated or store operated cation channels. In addition to the receptor mediated activation of TRPC3, an alternate mode of channel activation has been described, …

Go to article

Trans-4-Hydroxy-2-Hexenal As A Marker Of N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Oxidation In Brain In A Rat Model Of Ethanol Withdrawal, Eric K. Long Jul 2010

Trans-4-Hydroxy-2-Hexenal As A Marker Of N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Oxidation In Brain In A Rat Model Of Ethanol Withdrawal, Eric K. Long

Theses and Dissertations

Lipid peroxidation is a free radical-mediated process characterized by addition of molecular oxygen to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Lipid peroxidation occurs basally, resulting in products that participate in normal signaling. One product is trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE). HNE is a product of lipid peroxidation of n-6 PUFA, such as arachidonic acid, and has the ability to mofify proteins, deplete glutathione, and induce apoptosis. Brain is a tissue that consumes large amounts of oxygen and contains an abundance of PUFA, which suggests a high degree of susceptibility of lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation is known to increase in brain in diseases such as Alzheimer's …

Go to article

The Believers: A Novel, Karen T. Miller Jul 2010

The Believers: A Novel, Karen T. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes for its topic the prosperity gospel, begun in the mid-nineteenth century and still thriving today. The prosperity ministries that cropped up in Oklahoma and Texas emphasize scriptures such as "ask what you Will and it shall be done" (John 15.7). They teach that if you have faith, whatever you ask of God Will be given to you. This novel explores what happens to a group of young adults in a small-town Arkansas church who follow the evangelist Reverend Elijah P. Dunlap's prosperity teaching. Weekly meetings of the Believers form the structure for the novel. The group's members …

Go to article

Selenium Determinations, Nanoparticle Sorbent Analysis And Nanoparticle Catalysts For Chemiluminescence, Sandra Grace Hazelton Jul 2010

Selenium Determinations, Nanoparticle Sorbent Analysis And Nanoparticle Catalysts For Chemiluminescence, Sandra Grace Hazelton

Theses and Dissertations

Three projects in chemical analysis are presented. In the first, calibration-free Se(IV) determinations were accomplished using an electrochemical flow cell and stripping potentiometry at an unmodified gold electrode. The method was optimized prior to analysis of water and wheat samples. A detection limit of approximately 0.5 ppb Se(IV) was observed. Method accuracy was good and precision was acceptable (%RSD < 10). In the second project, stripping analysis was also employed, this time to analyze metal ion adsorption on carboxylic acid-modified silica nanoparticles. The metals analyzed were Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II). By using anodic stripping voltammetry, adsorbed metal ions could not be detected, thus the need to separate the sorbent from the free metal ions was eliminated. All three metal ions in this study adsorbed in a nearly one-to-one ratio with the carboxylic acid groups at high pH (∼1000 μmol g-1). The effect of pH on adsorption behavior was also investigated. The third project also employed silica nanoparticles and a flow-through detection system. Co(III)-triethanolamine-doped silica nanoparticles were synthesized and used as catalysts for the luminol-H2O2 chemiluminescence reaction. It was found that the chemiluminescent signal increased linearly with the concentration of nanoparticles in bulk solution. The detection limit for the nanoparticles was 1.5 × 10-12 mol L-1 . Luminol-H2O2 chemiluminescence had superior precision when catalyzed by nanoparticles as compared with the free cobalt(III) complex. It was demonstrated that the nanoparticles met the criteria required for a biosensor label.

Go to article

Physicians, Society, And The Science Fiction Genre In The Film Versions Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Or Doctors With A Serious Pod Complex, Brett S. Stifflemire Jul 2010

Physicians, Society, And The Science Fiction Genre In The Film Versions Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Or Doctors With A Serious Pod Complex, Brett S. Stifflemire

Theses and Dissertations

Close textual analysis of the four extant film versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers reveals that each film modifies the original story such that it reflects changing societal attitudes toward physicians and the medical profession, as well as depictions of military and government in the science fiction genre. The changing depictions of characters and events in these films respond to changes in medical history, social history, and the science fiction genre across five decades. Each film reflects the contemporary anxieties of its time and the perceived ability of physicians to relieve those anxieties. Doctors are important semantic elements of …

Go to article

Positive Versus Negative Neuroimaging In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Outcome: A Meta-Analysis, Thomas Jeffrey Farrer Jul 2010

Positive Versus Negative Neuroimaging In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Outcome: A Meta-Analysis, Thomas Jeffrey Farrer

Theses and Dissertations

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) can be broken into two categories; complicated and uncomplicated. These categories are based on structural imaging scans during the assessment of the injury. If abnormalities appear in the scan, we refer to it as complicated. The present research aims at determining whether there are differences in the neuropsychological deficits in the presences of positive neuroimaging as opposed to negative neuroimaging. This was accomplished with meta-analytic techniques. It was found that neuroimaging does not predict neuropsychological functioning in the chronic state of mTBI.

Go to article

Factors Influencing The Abundance, Community Composition And Activity States Of Bacterioplankton From The Tidal Freshwater James River, Catherine Luria Jul 2010

Factors Influencing The Abundance, Community Composition And Activity States Of Bacterioplankton From The Tidal Freshwater James River, Catherine Luria

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic bacteria respond to changing environmental conditions through a variety of mechanisms including changes in abundance, shifts in community composition and variable activity states. In the tidal-freshwater James River, variation in bacterial abundance was linked to nutrient availability and autochthonous production with highest bacterial densities associated with low-nutrient, high-chlorophyll a conditions. Laboratory experiments revealed that bacterial growth rates were nutrient limited at the low-nutrient site, while co-limitation (nutrients, glucose, light) was apparent at the high nutrient site. Despite large differences in abundance, community composition was similar based on TRFLP and 16S rDNA pyrosequencing. Community similarity was lower among rRNA libraries …

Go to article

Levinas, Meaning, And Philosophy Of Social Science: From Ethical Metaphysics To Ontology And Epistemology, Samuel David Downs Jul 2010

Levinas, Meaning, And Philosophy Of Social Science: From Ethical Metaphysics To Ontology And Epistemology, Samuel David Downs

Theses and Dissertations

The current approach to science for mainstream psychology relies on the philosophical foundation of positivism that cannot account for meaning as humans experience it. Phenomenology provides an alternative scientific approach in which meaning is constituted by acting toward objects in the world that is more consistent with how humans experience meaning. Immanuel Levinas argues that the phenomenological approach, while more consistent with human experience, does not provide a grounding for meaning. Rather, Levinas argues that meaning is grounded in the ethical encounter with the Other, or other person, such that meaning is given by the Other in rupture. For Levinas, …

Go to article

Community Response To False Hellebore (Veratrum Californicum Durand) Harvest 18 Years After Treatment, Craig Douglas Johnson Jul 2010

Community Response To False Hellebore (Veratrum Californicum Durand) Harvest 18 Years After Treatment, Craig Douglas Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Discoveries revolving around false hellebore (Veratrum californicum Durand) have caused a paradigm shift in treatment from eradication to harvest and preservation. Test plots set in place 18 years ago to analyze the effectiveness of eradication treatments (tilling, herbicide, mow, and remow) give us a better idea of how false hellebore communities might respond to disturbances caused by harvest. We focused mainly on the tilling, mow, and remow treatments because of similarities to harvest techniques.We found that mow and remow treatments have little effect on the population of false hellebore in the wild. Tilling treatments were effective in reducing …

Go to article

Impedance Imaging And Measurements By Micro Probes In Aqueous Environments, Tao Shang Jul 2010

Impedance Imaging And Measurements By Micro Probes In Aqueous Environments, Tao Shang

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation presented here describes two research projects that may, at first glance, seem unrelated. Their unifying principle is the measurement of electrical impedance for the detection and analysis of biological materials. Impedance measurements have long been employed and studied in scientific fields, and the dissertation begins with a summary of historical methodology, applications, and terminology. Utilizing impedance measurements for microscopic imaging is the driving motivation for Scanning Impedance Imaging (SII). This technique manifests the distribution of electrical impedance inside biological tissues and is described after the dissertation's introduction. SII can provide micron-scale imaging resolution by scanning a shielded microprobe …

Go to article

Does Electroacupuncture Affect Ethanol Modulation Of Mesolimbic Neurons?, Jung Jae Park Jul 2010

Does Electroacupuncture Affect Ethanol Modulation Of Mesolimbic Neurons?, Jung Jae Park

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate the mechanism of action of acupuncture on a critical neural substrate involved in alcoholism. Specifically, this study evaluated the effects of stimulation of the acupuncture Shenmen (HT7) point on inhibitory GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a midbrain structure implicated in drug and alcohol abuse, and ethanol self-administration. In addition, the role of opioid receptors (ORs) in ethanol and acupuncture effects was explored. Using electrophysiological methods in mature rats, we evaluated the effects of HT7 stimulation and opioid antagonists on the VTA GABA neuron firing rate. With behavioral paradigms, we …

Go to article

Pathogenic Role Of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Upregulation In Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury, Daniel Hobbs Jul 2010

Pathogenic Role Of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Upregulation In Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury, Daniel Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Phosphodiesterase Type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors are cardioprotective against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, it remains uncertain if I/R affects PDE5. We hypothesized that generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during I/R leads to upregulation of PDE5, which contributes to pathological changes following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Adult male ICR mice were subjected to 30 minutes of in vivo or ex vivo I/R. To examine the role of ROS, a subset of hearts were perfused with 100 µM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Expression and activity of PDE5, pPDE5, and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) were measured by Western blots and spectrophotometric assay. The results …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last